PRC Title

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

NYC PRC Prevention News Issue #31

Building capacity by creating networks, one coalition at a time
NYC PRC NEWS ISSUE #31
UN Official Makes Field Visit to NYC Streets
FDA Unveils Painkiller-Safety Plan
Have You Seen These Articles?

Check Out the PRC Website

 

 

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GOPers harsh Cuomo's buzz on weed bill (6/22/12) 

 

Youth Gangs Getting Younger and More Sophisticated, Cops Say (6/27/12)

 

 

 

LOCAL PREVENTION NEWS COVERAGE

Head of UN drug office makes field visit to NYC streets 

UN Official sees first-hand Washington Heights community's response to drug abuse

 

Upper Manhattan is not the usual stomping ground for the head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the part of the UN charged with helping in global efforts against illicit drugs, crime and terrorism.

CADCA Gen. Dean with UNODC Head Fedotov

  

While in New York to launch the 2012 World Drug Report recently, UNODC's Executive Director, Yury Fedotov, travelled to Post Avenue in Inwood to meet with people in the neighbourhood and learn about local efforts to end drug abuse.

 

The visit was organised by the Community Anti-Drug

Coalitions of America (CADCA), and hosted by UNIDOS Coalition, a New York-based community organisation and member of CADCA, which is working in Inwood to help address drug abuse and other problems affecting young people in the neighbourhood

 

Continue Reading: United Nations Multimedia

 

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NATIONAL PREVENTION NEWS COVERAGE
Doctors Not Required to Take Classes Under Government Prescription Drug Abuse Plan
FDA hopes plan will reduce misuse of the drugs and overdose deaths 

 

Physicians and other prescribers will not be required to take educational courses under a new government plan aimed at reducing prescription drug abuse.  The Wall Street Journal reports the plan does compel the makers of extended-release painkillers to fund courses for doctors and provide safety information to patients.

 

Companies that make extended-release painkillers must provide grants to make such courses available for free, or at a nominal cost, the article notes. These continuing education programs must begin by March 1, 2013. Drug companies will not be involved in the course design or curriculum.

 

Companies are expected to train at least 60 percent of prescribers of extended-release opioids by 2016, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates. The training will be aimed at teaching doctors to provide the proper dose of relief to patients in pain, while keeping the drugs out of the hands of dealers or people addicted to the pills.

 

Michael C. Barnes, Interim Executive Director of the Center for Lawful Access and Abuse Deterrence, told the newspaper the classes are not likely to be taken by those physicians who need them the most. "The people who are going to take those courses are the prescribers who are already diligent. What we need to do is get to those prescribers who aren't already diligent," he said.

 

The courses are part of the FDA's risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) for extended-release and long-acting opioids.

 

"Misprescribing, misuse, and abuse of extended-release and long-acting opioids are a critical and growing public health challenge," FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., said in a news release. "The FDA's goal with this REMS approval is to ensure that health care professionals are educated on how to safely prescribe opioids and that patients know how to safely use these drugs."

 
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About Us

The New York City Prevention Resource Center (PRC) is a partnership between the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS),  the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), and The Children's Aid Society (CAS).

 

The PRC is committed towards providing technical assistance and training to NYC communities addressing the negative factors associated with underage drinking, tobacco and other drug use; through the formation and strengthening of coalitions that are implementing evidence based strategies and best practices.